The 2017 Toyota 86 has been revealed ahead of its official launch at next week’s New York motor show.

The mid-life update to Australia’s most popular sports car carries a host of exterior changes, minor interior revisions and a small increase in power and torque.

From the outside there is a revised front bumper that houses a larger grille, which Toyota says emphasises the 86’s low and wide stance. Meanwhile, the rear bumper is all new, incorporating restyled LED tail-lights.

Revised LED headlights, with a new indicator design, now sits above a modified fog-light bezel, while the factory alloy wheel design has also been updated.

Toyota designers have shifted the rear-wheel-drive sports car’s fender-vent logo to lower on the front guard in the form of its own stand-alone badge. Further logos have also been added to inside the front headlights.

On the engineering side, Toyota has revised the 86’s suspension, focusing on improved shock absorber and spring rates, while adding hill-start assist to manuals models.

Automatic models remain unchanged in terms of power output at 147kW and 205Nm, however, manual variants have had an increase of roughly 4kW and 9Nm as well as changes to the gear ratio, bringing their new output to 151kW and 214Nm.

Toyota Australia says these new power figures from the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre ‘Boxer’ engine are yet to be confirmed for local models.

The interior of the base Toyota 86 GT remains unchanged, however, buyers of the top-spec GTS will see changes to the steering wheel – now finally incorporating audio controls – as well as new seating material with silver stitching.

The instrument panel also gains a new soft-feel ‘Grandlux’ material, embossed with the 86 logo, with the material also flowing onto the door trims.

Since the Toyota 86 went on sale in Australia in June 2012, the Japanese company has sold a staggering 16,456 units in Australia, making the model the consistent front runner in the local sports car segment.

Toyota Australia sales and marketing executive director Tony Cramb said the sales performance of the 86 has made it a phenomenal success, adding, “This 86 update is sure to add further fuel to that fire.”

The new 2017 Toyota 86 will go on sale in the fourth quarter of this year, though, Toyota Australia has yet to confirm whether the model’s current pricing structure will remain in place when the new car arrives.

What do you think of the 2017 Toyota 86 update? Is it what you were hoping for? Tell us in the comments section below.